Casino-type games and other forms of entertainment that combine chance with skill have achieved significant popularity, both in the technological and traditional realm. Traditionally, poker is played at a table with several players wagering paper money, coin money or other form of wagers on a series of playing cards. This form of poker requires a human dealer to coordinate the game. In today's expanding technological market, arcade games and other electronic devices have become exceedingly popular. As electronic games have increased in popularity, more casino-type games, such as poker, are enjoyed in electronic format.
Internet gaming has become quite successful in that it provides many choices for the players. In particular, Internet gaming is fast and convenient, with registration, betting and payouts available from almost any computer, including but not limited to hand held devices such as cellular phones, with Internet access. Poker or other card games may also be provided by stand-alone machines similar to slot machines. Electronic card games, such as electronic poker games, have been provided which allow players to compete against one another, but eliminate the dealer and the physical cards. Other electronic devices allow players to compete against other players without wagering actual currency.
In concept, video poker is enjoyed similarly to traditional poker games and is designed to replicate many aspects of a traditional poker. In some formats, the player is not attempting to beat another player's hand or a dealer's hand, the player is simply attempting to achieve the highest ranking poker hand possible from the cards displayed to the player.
In “flop” type poker games (also known as community card poker games), such as Texas Hold'em Poker and Omaha Poker, each player's hand may consist of a number of cards (pocket cards) unique to the player, and one or more common cards (community cards) which are shared among players. Players must make a betting decision before one or more of the community cards are exposed. A brief description of the background art including standard play for a Texas Hold'em Poker Game will now be provided but there are a variety of versions of the game, all of which have a similar format and general rules described below.
Poker is often played in a series of games or hands. In a game or hand, each player is dealt a number of cards (often referred to as a player's hand). The players place wagers in a pot based on their individual hands. The players' hands are evaluated and the winning player(s) receives the pot. Typically, players will play a series of games or hands.
A game, or series of games, is either “no limit” or “limit” type. A no limit type means each player may bet as much currency as they wish. A limit type means that bets have a maximum or minimum amount (e.g. pot limit poker limits the amount a player can bet to the amount of money in the pot).
Before cards are dealt in a game of Texas Hold'em, initial bets may be required. Two common ways to place these initial bets are antes and forced bets (blinds). An ante is a set amount put in the pot by every player in the game prior to the cards being dealt. This amount does not count toward the bet on the first round of betting. It is not very common to use antes with Texas Hold'em. Antes can also be used in conjunction with blinds, e.g., tournament sessions.
Blinds are another form of pre-flop bets. Before the cards are dealt, the first player to the left of the dealer must put forth the “small blind” and the second player to the left of the dealer must put forth the “big blind”. These blind placements count toward the total investment in the first round of betting. The amount of each blind is predetermined before each hand is dealt and is typically constant for the entire session or increased upon fulfillment of an event, such as a player being eliminated. The small blind is typically one half of the big blind.
Two cards are dealt to each of a group of players after the blinds or antes, if any, are placed. These cards are called hole or pocket cards. In an ante or no pre-flop bet game, the betting begins with the first player to the left of the dealer. In a blind game, the person to the left of the big blind starts the round of betting. This round is known as the pre-flop betting. Three cards are placed face up on the table after the pre-flop bets are placed. These are the first three community cards and are collectively referred to as the flop. The first player to the left of the dealer starts this round of betting. After all bets are placed for the flop round, one more card is placed face up on the table. This is known as the turn or fourth street. Another round of betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer. After this round of betting, a final card is placed face up on the table. This is known as the river or fifth street. A final round of betting takes place beginning with the player to the left of the dealer. All bets are placed into a jackpot, the “pot”. After betting is finished all cards are shown and payouts and collections are resolved according to the ranking of the poker hands of each player.
The players use a combination of their pocket cards and the community cards to form a poker hand. The player who shows the best hand wins. In some cases players with equal hands share the pot. In some cases the best hand is made up of the five community cards and the players share the pot.
If a game concludes before all the community cards are exposed, the players occasionally ask the dealer to expose one or more of the undealt community cards. This is commonly referred to as “rabbit hunting”. This is desirable, from the player's perspective, because it allows them to see if they made the right decision.
When a player bets all the currency that they have, this is called going all-in. If a player goes all-in and does not have enough money to match the current bet, then a side pot is typically created. If the all-in player wins the hand he is only entitled to his stake of the total pot. Players who continue betting or have a greater stake will be entitled to the side pot. For example, with three players in a game, a first player, with a large stack, wagers $20. A second player who only has $10 calls the $10, going all-in. A third player has $30, and thus can either call the full $20, re-raise to $30, or fold. If the third player bets all $30, going all-in, the bet is now $10 to the first player, who calls. Because the second player can only win $10 from each of the other two players' $30 bets, that $10 is taken from all players' bets and the $30 total is placed in the main pot. The $40 remaining, for which the first and third players are separately contesting, goes in a “side pot”. As no further bets can be made, the hand is now dealt to completion. If the second player has the best hand overall, then they win the main pot. If the third player has the second-best hand, then they win the side pot.
One drawback of community card poker games like Texas Hold'em is that the games may entail extended periods of inactivity. Because only two players are forced to bet in any hand (when blinds are used), the other players are able to examine and discard their poor cards without incurring a loss. Once a player folds, the player is excluded from further betting. At this point, the player is isolated and may become bored. As the community cards are flopped, the player may wish that they had remained in the game. As a result, often a player will not participate in the game for long periods until two favorable cards are received. Players that prefer the action and immediate decision of other games frequently choose not to exercise the patience and devote the time required to play Texas Hold'em and other community card poker games. Another problem with Texas Hold'em and other community card poker games is that the winning hand is usually a low value poker hand, typically two pair when there are five players. Should one player have a high hand at an early stage in the deal (e.g., after dealing the pocket cards) he can bet very high to force the other players out of the game.
In addition to Texas Hold'em poker, there are number of poker games which focus on community cards which players can combine with personal cards to form a poker hand. The following are variants of Texas Hold'em poker game:
“Omaha”—Players are dealt four pocket cards instead of two pocket cards. The players must use exactly two of their pocket cards in combination with three of the five community cards to make a five card hand.
“Pineapple”—Players are dealt three pocket cards and immediately discard one of the three pocket cards face-down before pre-flop betting begins.
“Crazy Pineapple”—Players are dealt three pocket cards. Before the turn card is dealt (after the post-flop betting), each player discards one of the three pocket cards face-down. If a player does not discard a card, his or her hand is dead after the turn is dealt.
“Double Flop Hold'em”—Whenever community cards are dealt there are two different boards dealt. Players can use their two cards in combination with either of these two separate boards.
“Super Hold'em”—Players are dealt three pocket cards. Players may use all 3 pocket cards in combination with 5 community cards to form a five card poker hand.
“Tahoe Poker”—Players are dealt three pocket cards. Players must use exactly 2 of their pocket cards in combination with 5 community cards to form a five card poker hand.
“Chowaha”—Players are dealt two pocket cards but there are three flop cards (all dealt at the same time), two turn cards (dealt at once), and one river card. Players form combinations of boards using their pocket cards and specific board lines, of which there are four. The top flop can't be used with the bottom turn and the bottom flop can't be used with the top turn.